A new life
by UndercoverDommo
Summary: A/N: Hello there! This is my first story so please go easy on me, constructive feedback and corrections would be greatly appreciated :D
1. Chapter 1

**Adrian ptechino - MC**

 _After being exiled from his station, Adrian is sent out to the surface with little more than a VSS, 3 magazines, a mask, and a makeshift suit._

Adrian heard the grating metal door shut behind him, he was out. A rush of anxiety and freedom flowed through him and choked him, forcing him to drag air through the dusty filter harder than he had anticipated, the filter gave off a rough scraping noise. A brutal reminder that the mask was old and fragile, of course, they would give him the shoddy one... "Screw them" he mumbled to himself, regaining his calm and straightening himself out. 'A new start!' he thought, 'I'm finally out of that claustrophobic hellhole, I can do what I want!' aloud _BEEP_ caught him off guard, his watch alerted him of his time limit on the surface, 20 minutes, after that, the mask was useless. Inquisitively, he approached the map on the wall, a small, dried-out piece of paper with a diagram of the metro and beside it, a map of the surface. They had been made before the war to be given to worried tourists so they wouldn't be lost for hours and find themselves stumbling down Tsvetnoi Boulevard at 3 in the morning...

A blood-curdling howl echoed throughout the intermission room that Adrian was stood in, bouncing off the walls and reverberating in his ears. He froze, a statue of a young man way in over his head. The most movement he could muster was to flick the safety catch off the VSS rifle he bore, making a satisfying click, giving him a feeling of safety. Counting his breaths, he slowly turned, hoping he could draw another sip of murky air before he was pounced on by the howling terror. A black, leathery beast was perched 20 meters away from where he was planted. Slimy, viscous liquid dripped from his mouth. Before the monstrosity could make a move the room was lit up with blinding flashes of orange and white, sprays of crimson blood and pale dust was thrown across the room, one final scream was let out before the monster came crashing down on the marble floor.

As the pool of blood rolled gradually across the floor and the spray on the wall started to run l casually, A loud croak blurted through the speakers on the wall, "Consider that our parting gift." Said the callous voice before the sound of a cracking and then nothing... The silence was deafening. Adrian was leaned against a wall, shaking, struggling to breath and alone. The puddle touched the toe of his boot, warm and soothing. It comforted him slightly, his violent shaking was slowly becoming a mild shiver. He got up, looked at the one-way glass beside the door and gave a final nod of gratitude. The blazing machine gun barrel retracted into small, inlet before a small door shut over it and bolted. They were probably packing up for the night, the station went into lockdown during night hours, Adrian knew exactly where the gun was going to be placed because he had done it hundreds of times, he knew where they would sit because he had sat in the same spot thousands of times. He shook his head, trying to forget the memories of the station, he had to move on, that life is over now, he must start a new one. An _adventure. '_ Yes, that's what I will think of it as! A story! My story!' he thought. His eyes lit up and a new demeanor swept across his face. He turned on the flashlight and strode up the old escalator with a new found confidence.

The sight he was greeted with when he reached the top of the mechanical stairs was one of horror and disbelief. Although he couldn't see much, what he could was devastating. Carcasses of cars strewn across the roads, skeletons of buildings claimed once again by the wilderness. When Adrian was told about the surface, he didn't believe what people said it was, he always wanted to believe that it was lush and pleasant but somewhere deep down, he knew it was a wasteland like everyone said it was, that it was a broken place that man no longer had claimant of. He could feel the tears spike his eye. BEEP, 15 minutes, He had to move, fast. the closest place was Sukharev. Just down the road. He walked out of the small exit and checked to see if the coast clear, 'No demons in sight. Time to go'. He started out with a walk but broke into a jog after noticing a small tear in his tarpaulin suit, must have been a ricochet from the machine gun burst, no time to repair. With the amount of noise the rifle hitting against his waist harness was making he was lucky he didn't wake the whole block.

The route took Adrian through a perilous trek, through buildings, roads and even an old plane crash, "Kolliжion Airlines". It must have been flying over just as the bombs dropped, A horrible death. Although Adrian felt a strange attraction to the plane, a BEEP alerted him of how much time was left to finish up his journey on the surface, 5 minutes. His jog turned to a run and then a sprint, he sloshed through puddles and jumped over long-dead animals, picked dry by the vultures and gargoyles. If he didn't make, he'd have to join them, join the pile of bodies mounting from a devastated world, a ruined life. A final beep sounded. Adrian hesitated for a second. He could still make it, As long as he didn't tell anyone, he would be let in. He ran down the stairs, stumbling on the bottom step and cracking his mask. he pulled himself up. 'I can explain' he told himself in a panic. He frantically banged on the door with the butt of his rifle, three short hits, three long hits, three short hits. The only Morse code he thought would grab the attention of the sleepy guard on the other side. SOS.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A metal clanging sound was heard from the other side followed by a plethora of curse words, he must have made some poor guard jump, knocking off a plate or a mug. A small latch opened at the side of the door, behind which a face, contorted from squinting at the moonlit room, peered through. Adrian took a step back with his gun slung around his waist, the guard's eye widened when the boy stepped into view, he proceeded to slam the door. Did they not accept outsiders? Did he notice the rip in his suit or the crack in his mask and think him to be a lost cause? Adrian's mind ran with worries, his stomach began to tie in a knot before his thoughts were interrupted by the emergency light above the door turning on and an alarm echoing throughout the cramped intermission room. He had made it! He had gotten past the most perilous part of the adventure. **A new life awaited.**

He shunted his arm behind his back as to not show the gash in the shitty "protective" suit which was already plastered in duct tape from previous wounds as well as a mix of dried and still-wet blood. Most of the blood was from the hellspawn that had been ripped to shreds in front of him only 10 minutes prior. As the door widened he flicked the safety on his rifle to make another click, just so that it didn't go off when he didn't expect it. The guard raised his rifle at Adrian's chest, a mix of anger and confusion on his face. This guy was seriously pissed off. Adrian raised his hands awkwardly, the suit didn't allow him to fully raise his arms leaving him in a very uncomfortable pose. Noticing Adrian's obvious discomfort, he signaled the boy to lower his arms by shaking the rifle barrel toward the floor. Letting out a sigh of relief, Adrian nodded in appreciation. The guard walked slowly backward signaling the stranger to follow but not taking the gun off him for a second. He knew what he was doing and Adrian admired that.

The guard presumably wasn't speaking as to not alert any undesirables to their presence. As Adrian neared the center of the intermission room, a large scraping noise made him jump. the doors were shutting, but how? As Adrian searched for an answer, his eyes caught with ones of a child. standing, sure enough, beside the door control panel. The child was half the size of Adrian, dressed in an oversized coat and gas mask. After a few seconds, the child looked away and began to march back to the assortment of toys, fashioned from cartridges. The door made a large click, breaking Adrian's train of thought. The urge to cough overcame him, he quickly whipped his mask up, off of his face in an urgent jerk before taking a stunted breath and coughing into his hand. When Adrian turned back to the guard, he looked slightly more anxious. He looked Adrian up and down before he began to walk again, this time faster than before. This man just wanted to sleep and the deep black marks below his jaded eyes showed it. Not wanting to keep the poor man up, he shuffled the mask into its appropriate pouch and picked up his pace, although, making sure not to look too eager.

The guard led Adrian to a cramped glass booth from before the war, a guard was squashed inside. The door guard yawned before explaining to the booth guard the situation. The man's monotone voice made Adrian yawn. It had been 2 days since Adrian had a proper nights sleep and it was only after hearing something so boring that he had realized it. once the story had concluded, Adrian was practically half asleep. The booth guard looked over at Adrian with the same luggage under his eyes as the first guard, "Passport." his birley voice droned. Adrian peeled open a compartment on his suit, pulled the sheets out and placed them down in a confident manner. After looking through the document multiple times and comparing it to the young boys face as they always did, he passed it back through and opened the gate with a small button protruding from his tiny desk. A sudden rush of heat and noise flowed from the opening, giving Adrian a long needed feeling of safety. Although he disliked the cramped-ness of the metro and how claustrophobic it always felt, he was glad to be back.

Now what? A horrible sense of dread filled the young boy's stomach. Adrian felt tiny compared to the seemingly monstous tunnels, bursting with life. The amount of freedom he was presented with was suffocating. He could go anywhere, do anything, and be whatever he wanted. He wanted to hide. It was too much. But he mustered his courage, put on a brave face and set out for the closest bar. A stiff drink would calm his fried nerves.


End file.
